


Dove

by somethinghastohappen



Category: Layton Kyouju Series | Professor Layton Series
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Teenagers, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bullying, dad layton dad layton!!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-08
Updated: 2020-03-08
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:22:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23072404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/somethinghastohappen/pseuds/somethinghastohappen
Summary: To this day, Layton still remembered the orphaned child he met wandering the street, wailing for his parents.That child was Clive, now a young man and his only son. Clive never truly recovered from the accident that left him alone in the world. Maybe part of Layton felt guilty about leaving him on the streets, and took him in out of sympathy and their similarities, because he lost to the same accident. To say he regretted the adoption would be a lie, because Layton absolutely loved having Clive with him, despite the initial action of it being a rather impulsive decision.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 26





	Dove

**Author's Note:**

> "layton takes clive in" au but I get to add the angst

To this day, Layton still remembered the orphaned child he met wandering the street, wailing for his parents.

That child was Clive, now a young man and currently his only son. Clive never truly recovered from the accident that left him alone in the world. Maybe part of Layton felt guilty about leaving him on the streets, and took him in out of sympathy and their similarities, because he lost Claire to the same accident. To say he regretted the adoption would be a lie, because Layton absolutely loved having Clive with him, despite the initial action of it being a rather impulsive decision. It’s what Claire would have wanted.

Clive was on the streets for a week until the Scotland Yard managed to finally get a hold of him. He had been lurking around the ruins of the building and that small part of town the entire time, but he was nimble for such a small kid; They couldn’t catch him when they spotted him, and chases often ensued. When he was finally pinned down that day, he would thrash and squirm, begging to be released, that he had to see his parents. It wasn’t until he was exhausted that they could drag him down to the police department.

Layton came into the office for other reasons, fifteen minutes after Clive had been dumped in a small cell while the policemen figured out what to do with the orphan boy. Clive immediately caught his eye and he felt a pang of pity for the exhausted boy that sat on the bench.  
“Inspector,” Layton tipped his hat to him in greeting.

“Ah! There ya are, Layton. I got those files you asked f’r,” The inspector, large and mustached, slid the files across the counter to him.  
“Thank you very much, inspector.” Layton picked up the files and stored them away in his bag. “May I inquire as to why you’ve got a boy in the cell?”

“E’s from the accident that happened about a week ago. We finally caught ‘im, and now we’re tryin’ ta figure out what to do with ‘im.”

“I believe I can be of assistance. May I speak to him?”

That evening, Layton went home with a now-calmed Clive and some more legal documents than he expected.

“Mah parents warned me about strangahs,” Clive would tell him reluctantly, thankful that he was rescued from the streets but still wary of the man who took him in. Despite his distrust, he scarfed down the food Layton gave to him that first night in his personal office. The poor boy barely ate on the streets, and continued to eat minimally for the next three days as well. He eventually began to accept the meals that appeared at his door, peeking out exactly a minute after the plate had been set down and taking it inside. The dishes always reappeared in the same spot Layton left them, though often empty. It was relieving to see he was eating again.

It took about a month for Clive to warm up to the Professor. At first, he didn’t trust him at all. To be honest, Layton didn’t blame him at all for it. He simply gave him the space he needed. This led to Clive eventually growing out of his shyness on his own, when he started to come out of his room more often to see what Layton was doing, or to get water, or sometimes to watch TV. He quickly took interest in the Professor’s field of archaeology work and his collection of fossils, but took far more interest in his second and unofficial job he had. Professor Layton helped others with mysteries when he wasn’t working. Clive wanted to travel the world with him on his adventures, but was shot down because Layton knew it’d be irresponsible.

For the time being, Clive was in school. Clive was a sharp kid and rather clever for his age, but he was often ostracized by his classmates. One night, he came home sobbing, refusing to directly tell Layton that the kids bullied him for his accent. It broke Layton’s heart to find out such a thing was happening to his son, and it hurt even more when he heard Clive up at night quietly practicing his pronunciation.  
He did everything he could to bring some happiness to his life. Layton began to home-school him when he turned fourteen, figuring it would be best for him to work at his own pace. He was already busy, but somehow, he managed to find the time to work with his son. It was a lot better for Clive this way, but he still had no way to get him out of the house. When Clive turned fifteen, he finally grew tired of being holed up and begged Layton to let him go on his business trips with him. It turned out to be a lot easier for Layton to spend time with him this way, and Clive proved to be quite useful to the investigations as well, despite his occasional quips of sarcasm.

Things weren’t always easier for Clive, though. Half a year later and it was the anniversary of the accident.

The door to Clive’s room creaked open. Layton spotted Clive’s figure on the bed, his back against the door and his body curled in on itself. He sniffled, looking over his shoulder to see who came in, even though he would’ve already known in the back of his mind that it would be Layton. He didn’t even bother to greet him, or welcome him in, or tell him to get out. He didn’t have the energy to do any of that-- He only had the energy to mourn in silence, having locked himself away in his room for the last three days.

“Clive,” Hershel started, walking over to him. The man set his hand on his shoulder when he sat down on the end of the bed. Clive was far from okay and Layton could immediately tell; He needed to intervene. “Clive, breathe.”

_“Dad? Dad?” He called into the thick smoke, feeling more lost than he ever had been before. Flames crackled on the other side of the door, where his father was. It was silent for a moment, before he heard his voice. “Clive. Leave the building. Now.”_

“I can’t--” Clive choked on a sob, covering his eyes with the palms of his hands. “I can’t…” He repeated again, and once more, before Layton butted in to stop the cycle. “It’s okay, Clive. I’m here with you,” Layton reassured him, frowning when Clive gripped at his own hair. He knew he did that when Clive was stressed. This was a huge problem.

_“I can't leave without you!” He childishly protested. Clive tried to open the door, which didn’t budge. Panic filled his mind and he tried to open it with more force; That didn’t work, either. He tried to ram into it using his shoulder, which ended up hurting him a little and overall not working. Clive did it again, desperately calling out: “Dad!? Are you in there!?”_

Clive looked up from his tear-soaked hands to make eye contact with Layton. He had the same expression on his face Layton would assume a kicked puppy would have. Layton internally despaired and frowned again, pulling Clive close to hug him. He can’t bear to see him this upset because it’s starting to make himself upset as well. “It’s okay. I’m right here with you, my boy.”

_"Leave!" His dad barked out at him, which startled Clive enough to make him jump. He would have protested, had something nearby not crashed down and startled him again. Clive took off running like a dog with its tail between it’s legs._

“Don’t leave,” Clive responded and shrunk further into his arms. He much rather preferred to suppress his problems and memories than to have them blow up like this. He wanted to forget this existed and happened, and it was easy to do that, to refuse to face his reality, until this time of the year. It was always this time of the year when he remembered the explosion.

_He took off running down the stairs. Behind him, beams of wood that once supported the roof above families of this building fell to their demise. The noise made Clive whip his head around, only to see that the stairs were demolished. He didn't look back when he heard a scream a few moments later, scurrying out of the building as fast as his little legs would carry him._

Layton soothingly rubbed his back, a gesture that felt strange but comforting to Clive. “I know how you feel, Clive,” Days like these made Layton dearly miss Claire. 

_Sirens blared from all directions as firefighters arrived on the scene. "I have to go back!" Clive fumbled in the man’s arms. "Mah parents are still inside!" He cried out._

Clive sniffled, smiling a little bit at the gesture. He found it hard to speak when he was having episodes like this one, and was relieved that Layton didn’t ever force him to talk. He closed his eyes, the smile fading away as he sniffled again.

_“Get a hold of yourself, boy!” Layton slapped him across the face in an instant; Not hard enough to actually hurt him, but enough to get him to pay attention. The boy focused, now, tears pricked at the corners of his eyes. “Jump back in, and you’ll die too!” Layton held onto him tightly. He had to do something about this, and if it was saving this boy from his own recklessness, then so be it._

“But a good gentleman,” Layton adjusted his hat, seeming to know what he was thinking about now. “Should always be prepared to help others in need first.”

_Grief took him, and he clung to Layton, sobbing. “No! No…” Clive wailed into his arms, still devastated at the loss of his parents. Layton held him tightly, a hand resting on his head._

"Thank you,” Clive wiped the tears away from his face, his head buried in Layton’s shoulder. The boy felt a pat on his back and a light ruffling of his messy hair. He focused on his breathing, comforted in the silence of the room.

**Author's Note:**

> hey!!! thank u for reading this :') this is a really close au to my heart.... pls leave kudos and share if you liked it! comments are welcome!!


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